


Bashful Creatures

by natshana



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Animal Shelter AU, Clexa Week 2017, F/F, None - Freeform, a quick idea that I love would be cute, all fluff, features Fish the dog, just two nerds in love, literally zero angst, which it is, zilch, zip - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-05
Updated: 2017-03-05
Packaged: 2018-09-28 13:18:44
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,865
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10102523
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/natshana/pseuds/natshana
Summary: She stalled for a second, why was she here?Yeah, I just wanted to see you again. No.“Uh,” why did she falter so much around this girl? Her usually confident bravado seemed to be left at the street corner the second she walked through those glass doors. “I just thought that Fish might like some things while he stays here, so he doesn't, you know, get lonely or something.”Or the one where Lexa can't figure out why she keeps returning to the Animal Shelter she had dropped off a stray puppy, maybe it was the blonde owner who worked the front desk or maybe it was because she had finally found a connection with something other than another person.





	

**Author's Note:**

> just a small one-shot that I meant to post for Clexa week but time slipped me by

The moment she saw the little ball of drenched fur, huddled in the corner of the alley she walked down everyday at seven in the evening, right after she had finished her evening classes at the community college a couple blocks down the street, she knew she was ruined.

From where she stood about four feet away, curled inside the lining of her rain jacket, it's sleek surface from the heavy pouring rain reflecting the street light behind her, she could hear tiny whimpers echoing through the thin corridor. They bounced around, under the fire escapes towering above, and against the piles of garbage lining the concrete ground, now soaked from the tiny river that had begun to form down the center of the alley, it's surface reflecting like a distorted rainbow due to the remnants of oil it had picked up.

She watched the small stream pool and push past her soaked boots, it's slippery form curling around the laces and hard leather before carrying on as she perked her ears for the small sound once more. It had come from her left like before and she set her gaze upon the heaping piles of garbage bags and loose scraps before finding a folded down box, leaning against the side of a dingy green dumpster, covered in graffiti, black muck, and dents from years of use.

The small, soul breaking whimpering, which barely sounded above a whisper and was almost a ghost against the keen ear, broke from the box and she felt her feet dashing over in an instant. Her knees found purchase with the ground, not even caring about the rain soaking through her jeans, and she pulled back the cardboard so that the small cast of the street light lit what was beneath.

She gasped at what she saw; a lone, golden retriever, with soft gold fur and black ears, that couldn't be more than a few weeks old. His matted and drenched fur stuck to his thin frame as he huddled against the green surface of the dumpster, hiding from the rain and trying to seek out its non existent warmth. Round, blue eyes looked up at her with the most pleading gaze, his body was shaking vigorously, looking like he would break from the way it racked through his body so violently.

“Oh, baby,” she reached out to touch him and he flinched, trying to back himself further into the corner, a sharp squeal sounding from the back of his throat.

“Hey,” she whispered gently, as a mother would talk to a child or infant. Retreating a bit, she held her fist in front of his nose so he could get familiar with her scent.

It took him only a moment of decision before he pushed forward, resting his head against her curled fingers. Which she gladly unraveled and carefully began to run through the matted fur on his forehead, scratching softly down to his neck. The small pup leaned further in and she went to scratch under his ears, which sent his back leg kicking and her throat to burst in small giggles.

“You like that, don't you?” She continued to pet him until he stood and came out of the corner slowly, walking up to her and climbing onto her knees, which were still bent from where she was crouched in the rainwater.

He curled into her and she scooped him into her arms, protecting him from the crude weather around them. “Don't worry,” she scratched under his ear again and tucked him further into the warm lining of her jacket, “I got you.”

~

To say that she got visitors past eight on a Wednesday evening was an exaggeration. The highest amount of people she ever had walking through her doors of the Animal Shelter was on the weekends, when families of age old dogs decided they had had enough, or when an owner had decided they no longer cared for the animal in their custody. It was on these days, when people no longer were busy with work, that they found the time to drop off the disowned pet without sparing it another glance. Her heart broke each time she had to hold the collar or leash on an animal while it whimpered and tugged, trying to follow its family as they walked through their set of glass doors. So when she heard the soft click of the double doors in front of her desk, and looked up from her papers to see a dark, hooded figure, shuffling in, she may have been a bit afraid.

The person carefully pushed the doors open with their hip and scuttled inside to escape the downpour, which she could see clearly had soaked through their jacket and jeans. She eyed the small pools left behind with each footstep of the figure on the linoleum floor and grumbled internally. Just another mess to mop up before she closed for the night, which technically she was supposed to have done about an hour ago. But she got caught up in her papers and had obviously forgotten to at least lock the doors.

She stood up straight when they approached her desk, her hands reaching to tighten the ponytail that sat behind her head and smiled. Still unsure of who stood in front of her for the lights were dim and their soaked clothing only threw more shadows across their features.

“Hi! What can I do for you?” She cringed at her over eager voice, hoping that the person before her didn't notice the sharp chords and probably too loud of tone.

“Um,” the person hummed unsurely and she was taken aback, the voice sounded feminine. The hooded figure shuffled their arms around, for they were clutched tightly to their chest, until one became free and lifted to take off their hood. It's soaked fabric sliding down their head and releasing beautiful brown waves of hair that encased probably the most gorgeous human on the planet. Even with drenched hair that clung to the woman's cheeks, her eyes were a vibrant green and her jaw line had the blonde swallowing audibly. Mentally cursing herself for getting so distracted by the woman's features and not towards the words that had begun to spill from her soft and plump lips.

“I'm not really sure, like, how to do this. But I was walking home and I found something and the thing is, my place doesn't really allow pets and so I just, I came here cause this is the only animal shelter in town and…” The woman was all over the place and she smiled.

“You found something? Would you mind clarifying what that means,” she chuckled, setting down her pen next to the papers below her and resting her hands on the countertop to watch the brunette.

“Oh, right, well,” the girl was flustered, which was surprising for her stoic demeanor and tall figure. She watched as the woman, again, messed with her jacket. Her pale hand reaching up to unzip its front and revealing a small bundle of golden brown fur in her arm. The lump’s back rising softly with each breath as it seemed to stir at the sudden lack of warmth and intrusion of light, lifting its head from the confines of the arm it had curled into and eyeing the bright room with a squint.

“I found this little guy on my walk home,” she found herself walking around the counter to stand in front of the two, eagerly wanting to reach out and touch the adorable ball of blue eyes and soft black ears. “I would have taken him home if I could, but as I said my apartment complex doesn't really allow animals. So, I came to the only place I could think of.”

The taller woman hadn't taken her eyes off of the bundle in her arms and had begun to run her fingers soothingly through its fur. She couldn't help but think that the two of them together was the most precious sight she'd ever seen. The blonde reached her hand forward in question, meeting the thrilling green eyes which nodded in permission before she began to ruffle the small dog's fur. Closing its eyes, the pup leaned into their touches and they couldn't help but giggle at the small action.

“I'm glad you came here, most shelters aren't like this one and will try to bid off their animals as fast as they can. But I make sure that we keep every orphaned animal until the right family comes to adopt it, we're open everyday to visitors and most of them go fast. If not then I make sure my staff gives each one the attention and love they deserve.” She reached out her other hand to ask if she could take him and smiled at the hesitant look that passed through the woman's green eyes.

But finally her long arms receded the dog and she gladly scooped him into her own, he quickly nuzzled himself deeper into her hold and she matched the small grin that spread across the brunettes face. “Does he have a name?”

Green eyes met her's in an almost scared expression, maybe of shock or uncertainty. The taller woman stuttered, “well, I just found him about an hour ago, I hadn't really…”

“Don't lie to me, I can tell you already had something in mind,” her heart fluttered at the bashful woman, whose cheeks had grown rosy.

“I was kinda thinking Fish?” She watched the woman internally back away a bit and she made sure to keep her expression open and welcoming. “Since when I found him he was basically swimming in the rain.”

“I think that suits the little guy just perfectly. Don't you agree, Fish?” She looked down to the bundle in her arms which had been watching the two quietly. His mood lifted when he noticed them both looking at him and he barked softly, picking up on her enthusiasm.

The two of them laughed quietly and she couldn't help but glance back up into green eyes, her laugh was beautiful just like the rest of her and she could already feel the shivers being sent down her spine.

“Would you like to see where we would be keeping him?” She turned towards a back door next to the counter and the brunette eagerly nodded while zipping her jacket back up to hide the grey sweater beneath.

“Great, I'm Clarke by the way,” she leaned closer and whispered to the girl who had matched her steps and was walking beside her, “I kinda own the place so feel free to ask me anything.”

“I'll keep that in mind,” grin for grin was matched as she pushed open the door with her free hand, “and I'm Lexa.”

“It's very nice to meet you, Lexa, I hope you find our practices to your liking.”

“Oh, I'm sure I will,” the girl smirked, looking her up and down, “based on what I've seen so far, it wouldn't be too surprising.”

 _Oh fuck_.

~

What the hell was she thinking? You don't go back to an animal shelter after dropping one off. The whole point of the place is to get rid of an unwanted pet for good, not to keep checking up on it. So why had she found her feet taking her right back there the next day? Why was she so inclined to see the small dog again, maybe it had something to do with the gorgeous blonde who stood behind the counter, and maybe it was due to the fact the she had little company in her life after moving across state for school. But was that really what had her walking back across town with a backpack full of new dog toys and a of couple treats from the local pet shop? She shrugged the bag higher on her shoulders, not really caring, what's done is done. And she couldn't ignore that flutter in her chest and buzzing fingertips as she got closer and closer to the double glass doors.

The place was the same as from the day before, though a little brighter due to the earlier time of day. It's white walls and tiled floor would usually bring a queasy feeling to people's stomachs, but they over compensated with gigantic posters of adorable kittens, puppies, and whatever other animals they would accept through their doors. Chairs lined the wall she had just walked through and she eyed the desk that sat in the middle of the room, like one of those hospital counters where it had a place for the customer to write or lean against along with a shorter, smaller portion which held the computers and files of those who worked there.

The counter was a made of sky blue marble and she couldn't help comparing it to the blonde’s bright eyes.

When the door slid shut behind her and clicked with a hiss as the mixture of the air from indoors and outdoors was cut off, Clarke didn't even give her a glance. The woman was placed behind the desk in what most likely was a chair due to her drastic change of height, with her nose buried in whatever she was working on. A pair of reading glasses sat at the end of them, the same pair which she had noticed hanging from the girl’s shirt pocket just yesterday. They were endearing as all hell on the woman and she had to try and hide her loopy grin which had begun to sprout along her lips.

“I'll be with you in a second,” the interruption not once undermining the value of her task at hand.

“Okay, no hurry,” she spoke softly and went to sit in one of the chairs.

But at the sound of her voice the blonde behind the counter shot up, her eyes catching onto her green and she smiled brightly, almost too eagerly and she mentally praised herself, “Lexa.”

“Clarke,” she smiled and sat in one of the waiting chairs, slinging the bag on her back to rest in her lap.

“What are you doing here?” The girl honestly looked confused but yet her smile almost broke the perplexity.

She stalled for a second, why was she here?

 _Yeah, I just wanted to see you again. **No**_.

“Uh,” why did she falter so much around this girl? Her usually confident bravado seemed to be left at the street corner the second she walked through those glass doors. “I just thought that Fish might like some things while he stays here, so he doesn't, you know, get lonely or something.”

Clarke smiled almost smugly, proudly? She didn't know, but it did things to her stomach, sending it into a spiral, making it ignite with warmth, and she was not okay with that.

“Awe,” she fucking cooed and Lexa could already feel the heat rise in her cheeks. “We try and provide the best comfort for them as possible but I'm sure he wouldn't mind a few extra things, would you like me to take you to him? Usually, I don't allow people to continue visiting with the animal as it can create a false attachment and make the animals situation confusing but I think I could make an exception for you.”

“Yes, I would like that, and thank you,” She nodded, climbing to her feet again and looping one arm through her bag.

“It's no problem, just let me finish with this real quick and then I'll take you.” The girl pushed her glasses back into place on her nose and then continued to type away at her desk. It was only a few moments while Lexa walked around the room slowly, analyzing the posters, before the blonde was ready and was leading her into the back part of the building, again.

The path was familiar as it had only been the previous day when she had first taken it. The door from the main office lead to a hallway lined with rooms for grooming and medical use. The hall then opened up to where they kept all of their current residents, which was a huge, warehouse like place that held rows and rows of large kennels made of chain link fencing. Big dogs to small dogs to cats of varying sizes leapt at their doors when they passed. She couldn't help but want to reach out and gently pet each one, wishing that they could have a warm and loving home one day.

Clarke was patient as she waited for Lexa to visit each cage, her small smile mirrored by the brunette each time their eyes locked. It took some time to get towards the second row which held Fish on the very end. His cage matched the others with a small bed and two bowls for food and water.

He too jumped at his door when he saw them, his small paws falling between the opens holes of the fence as he eagerly awaited their arrival. His whole body shook, much like the night she'd found him but now it was due to excitement instead of the cold. Lexa crouched down and tried to pet him through the small slits in the fence while Clarke worked the lock with a set of keys.

The kennel was big enough to allow them both to sit down on the cement flooring and still have enough room for comfort. Clarke sat across from her, her white lab coat splayed out so she wouldn’t sit on it and her hair tied back as she watched the small dog excitably jump all over the taller girl.

She only laughed as he tried to jump higher and towards her face but kept falling onto his back in her lap. Setting him down in the crevice between her folded legs, she kept one hand on his back, scratching softly, as she withdrew the bag on her back around to her front. From there it was opened and toys of all sorts spilled out, leaving both women long forgotten as the dog bounced from each one, undecided.

They watched for a bit before the girl in front of her spoke up, a soft look to her eyes as her lips curled into a small grin. “You really went all out didn't you?”

She tore her eyes away from Fish who had gotten hold of one of the small, puppy sized bones, and was chewing to his delight. Her gaze caught the deep blue and sincere look of the blonde and she shrugged, not really knowing what to say.

“I just wish I could give him a home, maybe one day when I move out I'll be able to take him but at the same time I hope he isn't here that long.” She scooped the content dog into her lap and returned the treat to his reach.

“Puppies usually are picked up pretty fast, and from what I can tell, he's only about three weeks old. Making him the perfect age to start training and be able to adapt with a new family.”

She nodded sadly, it was hypocritical of her but she really didn't want to let him go. Fish had lost interest in the bone and now stood, nudging her hand so she would pet him, which she happily obliged.

“I know it will be hard to see him go,” the girl caught her eye again, “but I'm happy to let you continue visiting him until that happens.”

“Really?” She perked at the words and the small pool of sludge that had begun to build in her chest, slowly began to fade.

“Of course, I can tell you really care for him and as long as you visit him until his adoption then I see no harm in it.” The girl was nodding along to her own words that Lexa could hardly hear due to her thudding heart and the increasement of warmth through her veins.

Without thinking, she dove forward and hugged the girl, nearly knocking her over and sending the puppy tumbling down her lap with a small yelp. “Thank you so much!”

“Of, course,” the woman was chuckling and she could feel it vibrating into her own body, causing places to stir unwillingly. The arms wrapped around the woman's back quickly untangled and she sat up straight, her cheeks flushed.

They were quiet for a moment before the blonde broke it again, “so, should I expect to see you tomorrow?”

“Most definitely.”

~

A spray of water hit her directly in the back and she gasped, the cold temperature counteracting the warmth from her body and instantly making her tense up as it soaked through her thin tank top and dripped down to her jeans.

“Clarke!” She whipped around to face the woman, innocently holding a hose and rinsing the suds off a very patient Fish. Who sat in the middle of the wash room and pleasantly gazed upon Lexa, his tongue lolled out of his mouth as he planted.

“Yes, Lexa?” She glanced up at the seething girl before returning to her task, seemingly unfazed.

“What, the fuck?” She kept switching her gaze from glaring at the blonde and trying to peel the damp material from the skin of her back. Only making it worse of course as the cool air instantly would make her damp skin even colder.

“Is there a problem?” She watched the blonde look back up at her and could see the small grin the woman was trying to fight down.

“Oh, there's about to be.”

The occasional day of visiting had turned into weeks and pretty soon months. For some reason, nobody had wanted to adopt the small pup and so it was left to the two women to watch him grow slowly. His beginning, barely bigger than a stuffed animal size, had grown to be the length of a small toddler, and yet he still had more to go.

Lexa had visited everyday after their first initial meeting, always to see Fish and bring him the occasional treat or toy. Being able to interact with the blonde had only been a bonus, at first. But then as the two grew closer, the visits had become more of an excuse to see both of them, and after a couple weeks, Lexa had invited the girl out for drinks.

And then the movies.

And then dinner.

But yet the two had still not made a move on the other, some how both internally deciding that staying as friends worked out better for the time being.

That didn't stop the constant sexual tension of course, or the flirting, or side glances, or the touches and words and actions that had both women just eagerly waiting for the other to make a move that would confirm their feelings for each other.

Which had brought them to today, where Lexa happened to show up right when Clarke was about to help her co-workers bathe all of their animals. And being the ever generous person she was, the brunette offered to help and that's how she found herself, standing in the wash room with water soaking her back and the rim of her jeans.

“Oh, there is, is there?” Clarke stood, her smirk fully in place now. Her own shirt was already slightly wet due to the backlash of water when it bounced off of Fish, and Lexa was having a hard time tearing her eyes away from revealing material that clung to her body in all of the best ways.

“Cause, as far as I'm concerned,” she waved the hose around and Lexa had to jump back to miss the stream, “I'm the only one armed.”

With no other choice, she tallied the distance between herself and the blonde, and ran. Clarke yelped as she was picked up and thrown over her shoulder, dropping the hose and hanging onto her waist from where she hung upside down.

“Lexa!” The woman screamed, but Lexa was too distracted with her plan.

“Fish, fetch!” She watched as the dog dove for the hose and brought it towards them, but she hadn't thought this part thoroughly enough.

As he approached, she realized her mistake too late, and suddenly both her and Clarke were caught in the spray of the hose, carried by an over eager to please dog. He jumped around them in circles, excited to be in on the fun, and ended up circling the hose around them, until they were a tied up mess of rubber and water.

“Lexa, I swear-” but of course her foot would slip on the tiles covered in water and soap, sending them straight down towards the hard ground. Thankfully in the mess of hoses, she was able to flip them around so that Clarke wouldn't land on her head.

But the outcome wasn't much better.

She found herself out of breath with a warm body slumped on top of her, their bodies entangled and legs locked together. Clarke's forearms fell on either side of her head so that the blonde rested on her elbows only inches from her face. Blue eyes looked down onto green as they both tried the catch their breath, she could feel the warm whisps exerted from the girl above her, along with the cladden material of their clothing stuck together, and the hose that still wrapped around their legs and held them locked in place.

Thoughts of the dog or the water or the soap fled both their minds as they lay together, eyes locked. The earlier frilliness and playful banter having disappeared, leaving behind clouded thoughts and the overwhelming want of the women who still lay above her. She watched cerulean blue eyes flicker between her own, and finally fall to her lips, which were still slightly agape from the need of air.

What was really only a matter of seconds, seemed to last decades as a soft hand came to hold the underside of her jaw, a thumb caressing the side of her cheek as she didn't dare look away from the deep blue eyes above her. The blonde leaned closer and she swallowed, her breaths coming shorter and shorter and she was sure that the girl above her could feel the pounding of her heart as it pulsed through them. A cold nose brushed her own, slightly damp from the water that had been long forgotten and she closed her eyes. Cutting off the small connection between their minds as she gasped.

“Clarke,” it wasn't more than a whimper. A pleading whisper of lust that had the blonde above her melting.

“Lexa,” a small exhale and then the gap between them closed.

Clarke's lips found hers and she was off of the planet, off into the clouds and high above the city's skyline. She was in the stars and flying around the moon when her bottom lip was pulled between the blondes. She was in a deep haze when her tongue skirted over lips that tasted like the cinnamon of the women's chapstick. When Clarke pulled away for only a second, their noses brushing again as she changed the angle and came back down, heavier this time as she let her elbows lose more slack. And then there was a small bite to her lower lip, and a swipe of an entrance seeking tongue, and they found themselves lost in one another as the blue tiles around the room faded into oblivion, followed by the sponges and soap bottles and a dog that was having the time of his life rolling around in the spray of a hose.

The moment only ended when they both were about to pass from the lack of oxygen pumping through their bodies, and even then they stayed only mere inches from the other. She found her hand untangling from a knot in the hose and rising to cup the blonde's cheek. Caressing its soft skin, and trailing her thumb down to pass gently over the girl's lips. Which were agape and slightly swollen as she could still feel the tingling tracing along her own.

The pad of her thumb passed over their slick surface and then her eyes jumped towards blue again, the air filled with panting and the muggy condensation of warm water.

“I've wanted to do that since the day I walked through those doors and saw you sitting behind the desk.” She kept her voice a whisper, not wanting to break the atmosphere.

“Well,” she felt fingers twirling with the ends of her hair and she could feel the grin begin to creep along her lips, “I've wanted to do that ever since I saw you cradling a small puppy like your life depended on it.”

“Yeah?” She was still, surprisingly, breathless and the woman above her smiled.

“Yeah, you were quite adorable.” The blonde smirked and Lexa furrowed her brow, although nothing could wipe the grin spread across her lips.

“I'm not adorable,” she grumbled.

“I beg to differ,” and her nose was met once again with another.

“Oh, really?”

The girl above her hummed and the moment their lips met again could hardly be called a kiss because they were too busy smiling and giggling that it was more of a clash of teeth and only a brush of lips but neither woman would of had it any other way.

~

It had been six months since she had found the little scrap of fur in a back alley on a late Wednesday night, four since her and Clarke had gotten tangled in the wash room, and yet she still hadn't stopped making her daily visit to the Animal Shelter. Of course, she and Clarke visited more often than not in places other than the shelter. But evenings after seven were solely exclusive to hanging out with Fish.

It was mid August and the winds had picked up, along with the rain and overcast sky. The weather causing the streets to stay a dark gray and the trees to start losing their dullen orange and yellow leaves. Which lined the sidewalks and sat in the crevices by the curbs, making her walk to the shelter just a bit more enjoyable as her boots crunched along the built up piles.

She had just gotten out of class, since she kept her schedule the same as the year before, and was opening the glass doors of a building she could almost call a second home. But as she pushed open its sleek frame, and stepped onto the bright linoleum floor, something was different. Even as she made her way to the desk, her shoes squeaking with the afternoon rain, it was as if the air shifted. But yet the blonde who sat across from her, smiling the radiant smile which she had come to love and still made her heart flutter like the first time she had laid eyes on her, acted the same as every other day. The same, boisterous, over eager yet calming attitude that had her fingers thrumming and lips stretching to accompany the ever present grin across her features.

“Aren’t you looking spiffy,” she watched the woman's eyes make their way up her body and she blushed, tucking her chin down a bit with a dopey smile.

“Spiffy, Clarke? Really, what is this? 1983?” Lexa chuckled, her fingers thrumming along the countertop while her girlfriend stood and circled it to stand in front of her.

“I don't know, it could be,” the girl's hands reached up and folded out the collar of her suit, resting at the ends and tugging her down closer until she could smell the mint gum on Clarke's breath, “I can make it whatever time period you want as long as it gets your sexy ass in my bed tonight.”

She gulped, even after months of subtle touches, and not so subtle touches as they found each other in the others beds most nights of the week, the woman still made her a breathless, bumbling mess. Her hands found purchase on the woman's hips under a clean white lab coat, fingers playing with the hem of her high waisted jeans. Occasionally slipping under the woman's shirt to brush along the soft warm skin of her stomach.

She leaned forward as the woman under her fingertips shuttered, grazing her lips along the blonde's ear and grinning when she heard a soft gasp. “I'll have to wear suits more often, then,” she whispered quietly and Clarke nodded.

“Which reminds me,” she quickly moved back into her own space and didn't miss the disappointed look crossing the shorter girl's face. “I got it.”

Clarke held a befuddled look in her eyes before a loud gasp echoed from her throat, “you got the internship?”

When she nodded, her face broken into a wide, childlike smile, Clarke couldn't help but squeal quietly and lean in for a chaste kiss. One that had her trailing after the blonde in search of more before realizing that she had begun to speak again.

“That's great, baby,” gentle hands rubbed along her upper arms and she held onto the woman just a bit tighter.

“It means that I'll be working later nights and won't be able to see you and Fish as often,” she moved one of her arms from the girl’s waist to push a loose strand of blonde hair back behind her ear. “But I'll make the most of what I can.”

They both continued towards Fish’s kennel after the brief conversation, a muscle memory path that they hadn't realized they'd taken until they were in front of the dog's cage and were interrupted by his excited greeting. As they made their way into the cage, she felt Clarke's soft hand wrap around her wrist and pull her close until they were flush once more. The chain link fence clinking shut behind them as Lexa moved her fingers to brush away the insistent hair that kept falling in front of Clarke's face. Clarke's body was stiff where she had wrapped her arm around and she furrowed her brow in question.

“Speaking of Fish,” concern played out along Lexa's features as she noticed the hesitant look to Clarke's eyes. “I have something to tell you.”

_Oh no._

She knew that her day couldn't have ended as perfectly as how she’d wanted it to. The moment she had stepped out of her class, after having spoken with her professor, the weight of the world on her shoulders only ceased to remind her of an impending catastrophe that would lay soon at her feet. Her eyes flickered between two pools of uncertain blue and she swallowed, feeling as if the sinking in her gut after having walked through the door had turned to a rock. Only waiting to be dropped and pull her along with it.

The blonde noticed her falling expression and she quickly reached up to hold the hand that had been hovering over her cheek. “He's being adopted.”

Yup, there it was, the sinking in her chest that no rescue boat could ever pull free. It was strange really, she had wished for ages that someone could see how amazing and wonderful the loving dog could be, but it still didn't hurt any less when the reality fell atop her consciousness.

“Are they going to be good for him? Did you meet who it was?” She swallowed again, trying to clear the lump that had formed on the back of her tongue.

The girl in her arms smiled softly, tenderly caressing the back of her hand with a gentle thumb. “I have, and I think they are going to be a perfect match and take the best care of him. I've actually had several offers over the months but this one stood out, Fish will have a great home there.”

Lexa nodded, looking down to twist her hand around so that she could entwine their fingers together. Her eyes never left them as she spoke softly, trying to keep her voice even. “Who,” she cleared her throat, “who is it?”

The fingers wrapped around her's squeezed and a gentle hand came up to lift her chin until her eyes locked onto the vibrant blue ones again.

“Me.”

She stilled, her racing heart seeming to stop until it was sent full throttle again. Her eyes couldn't seem to decide which eye to look at as they flickered between both, a small smile forming on the blonde's lips.

“You?” Her breath was short, and she could already feel the heaviness in her gut lift, until it felt like her blood was flowing again and her incessant heart rate actually mattered.

“Yeah,” Clarke’s grin had grown and her fingers curled in the hair that flowed over Lexa's shoulder, “my place is a little empty, as you know, and I thought, what better way to fill it than by adopting a lonely and homeless soul.”

“Oh my god, Clarke,” her voice was choked from trying to hold in everything going through her mind.

The woman in front of her froze for a second, doubt clouding her eyes, “is that okay?”

“Yes, god, yes, that's more than okay,” she chuckled through her rough voice and both women grinned before pulling each other closer until their arms were wrapped snugly around one another. Lexa buried her face in the girl's neck and traced light patterns on her back with the ghost of her fingertips.

After a moment of the two basking in the others hold, Clarke shifted her head so that she could talk quietly in Lexa's ear. “Y’know, I was thinking. My place might have enough room for another homeless soul as well.”

Lexa pulled away slightly, both of them missing the close contact but she had to watch the expressions reflecting off of the blonde's eyes. “If this is your way of asking me to move in, you know I'm not homeless, right?”

Her heart thundered in her chest at the propositions laid out before her. Sending waves of electricity through her limbs and making its way to the ends of her fingers and toes.

“Well no, but your people... less,” Clarke furrowed her brow at her play on words, “and I want to be your, quote, people. So,” blues eyes were searching her own, “move in with me? Please?”

“Ugh, fine,” she faked annoyance and tried to keep her smile down as she saw one growing on her girlfriends features. “If Fish is there I guess it won't be so bad.”

That earned her a glare and she giggled, tightening her grip on the woman, “Oh, come on, Clarke. You know I'm only joking, I'd love to live with you.”

“Yeah?” Blue eyes lit up brilliantly and her mood lifted increasingly.

“Yeah,” she breathed it quietly, leaning into Clarke until their foreheads rested together.

Clarke closed her eyes at the touch but Lexa didn't want to miss a single instance of this moment, “I love you.”

The blonde smiled and all Lexa wanted to do was lean closer and close the distance between them, “I love you, too”

“But you know what I love even more?” She grinned as Clarke only hummed in question, too lost in the feeling of Lexa's touch.

“Fish.”

Blue eyes opened and glared playfully, “your love for Fish trumps your love for me?”

She hummed, it buzzed her sealed lips as she thought. “No, it's more fifty, fifty.”

“That's more like it.”

“Maybe,” she smirked, “fifty five, forty five?”

Clarke matched her smirk and leaned closer, lips brushing against her earlobe before pulling it gently between her teeth. “As long as I'm the one with the extra five percent.”

The hot breath along her neck and a trail of kisses down her jaw had her trembling, “Oh, of course love.” She looked over towards the dog that lay on his bed, watching them, and she winked at him playfully.

“I can feel you winking at Fish,” it came as a laugh against her neck.

“What?! No, of course not,” she smiled, burying her face in the blonde's neck again to hide her giggling and wide smile.

“I have a telepathic connection with him, I know you're winking at him.”

“Fish, you traitor,” the joke was lost into the neck of the warm women in her grasp but they both still laughed after a moment of peaceful silence.

Finally, Lexa pulled away and cupped the blonde's chin in her hand, gazing steadily into blue eyes that looked at her as if she had put the stars in the sky. “I really do love you.”

“Well good, because I really love you, too.” They both smiled.

She nudged Clarke's nose with her own, “good.”

They both closed their eyes and the other woman laughed, “good?”

“Very,” the word was almost inaudible as she breathed it across puckered lips that she finally brought between her own. Her hand found itself tangled in blonde curls and then they were lost to everything but the small dog that lay beside them and the blossoming future right outside the cage's doorstep.

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave feedback! Tell me what you thought, I'de love to hear :)


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